BISMARCK, N.D. (Nov. 10, 2017) – An open house will give the public a final opportunity to tour the existing North Dakota Governor’s Residence before the home is dismantled.
The open house will be from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the residence, 1131 N. 4th St., Bismarck. The state’s Facility Management Division will conduct the tours. Visitors should enter from the south driveway entrance off Fourth Street and park in front of the house along the east side of the driveway loop. Street parking also may be available.
Completed in 1960, the current 10,000-square-foot residence has been home to nine first families. The ranch-style house contains about 5,500 square feet on the ground floor and 4,500 square feet in the basement, plus a 400-square-foot detached garage.
It was the second official residence built for North Dakota’s governors. The original residence was built in 1884 as a private home and served as the governor’s official residence from 1893 to 1960 at 320 E. Ave. B in Bismarck. It is now maintained as a state historic site. For more information, visit www.history.nd.gov/historicsites/fgm.
A new residence, which includes expanded event space and was approved by the 2015 Legislature and designed by a committee, is in the final stages of construction next to the current residence. If schedules hold, the residential portion of the new facility is expected to be ready for occupancy next month. Groundwork began in September 2016.
Because the state received no offers to buy or relocate the current residence, it is scheduled to be dismantled. Some fixtures and architectural elements from the current residence will be utilized in the new residence, with the rest going to surplus property. Demolition of the residence, which is not handicapped-accessible, could begin as early as February 2018.
Efforts are ongoing to raise $1 million in private funds as required by the 2015 Legislature to match the $4 million in state funds that legislators appropriated for the new residence. For more information, visit www.friendsoftheresidence.com.